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Officials at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in Bethesda, Md., required a rugged computing system for its NextView program. The program is designed to gain high-resolution images of Earth via a new generation of imaging satellites capable of collecting geospatial intelligence in support of national security.
They found their optimal solution at BAE Systems in Manassas, Va. In fact, two BAE Systems RAD750 radiation-hardened single-board computers are managing the command-and-control functions onboard the WorldView-1 satellite.
WorldView-1, which was launched aboard a Delta II rocket, is owned and operated by Colorado-based DigitalGlobe. The first satellite in the NextView program, WorldView-1 is expected to collect, store, and downlink more frequently updated imagery than any other commercial imaging satellite in orbit today.
The two RAD750 computers were delivered to Ball Aerospace of Boulder, Colo., the company responsible for building the WorldView-1. WorldView-1 is the tenth satellite now operational in space with RAD750s in control.
“Within the next two years, more than 150 RAD750s will be launched into space on a variety of civil, commercial, and DOD satellites,” says Vic Scuderi, business area manager for space products at BAE Systems. “WorldView-1 is an important platform for delivering more real-time data to help warfighters make key decisions on the ground, in the air, or on the seas.”
BAE Systems’s RAD750 is a licensed radiation-hardened version of the IBM PowerPC 750. For additional information, visit BAE Systems online at www.baesystems.com.
Military & Aerospace Electronics December, 2007
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